Joshua 17:1 ¶ There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.
Joshua 17:2 There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.
Manasseh was the firstborn son of Joseph, but Jacob gave the greater portion to Ephraim when he adopted them as his own and blessed them.
Genesis 48:13–20 “And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn….And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.”
We are reminded that half of the tribe of Manasseh had received their inheritance east of the Jordan River that included the land of Gilead and Bashan.
Joshua 17:3 But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Joshua 17:4 And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.
Joshua 17:5 And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;
Joshua 17:6 Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead.
We are reminded that the daughters of Zelophehad, descendants of Manasseh that had no brothers, were also given an inheritance in the land as commanded by the LORD through Moses (see Numbers 27). It sounds like they had to remind Eleazar and Joshua of that fact.
Adam Clarke notes the following regarding the “ten portions” — “As there were six sons and five daughters, among whom this division was to be made, there should be eleven portions; but Zelophehad, son of Hepher, having left five daughters in his place, neither he nor Hepher is reckoned. The lot of Manasseh therefore was divided into ten parts; five for the five sons of Gilead, who were Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, and Shemida; and five for the five daughters of Zelophehad, viz., Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. Calmet.”
Joshua 17:7 ¶ And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.
Joshua 17:8 Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;
Joshua 17:9 And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:
Joshua 17:10 Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.
Joshua 17:11 And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.
Matthew Henry summarizes the inheritance west of Jordan as follows: “It reached from Jordan on the east to the great sea on the west, on the south it lay all along contiguous to Ephraim, but on the north it abutted upon Asher and Issachar.”
Megiddo stands out to me because of my interest in the study of prophecy and end times. It is there where the armies of Antichrist will gather for battle against Jesus and His army, and Jesus will return as King of kings to defeat them and establish His kingdom.
Revelation 19:19 “And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.”
Joshua 17:12 Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.
Joshua 17:13 Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out.
Once again we read that the people could not drive out the Canaanites in the land. We know that is not true because the LORD had said He would give them the victory if they followed Him in faith and obedience. Obviously, as noted by Guzik in the previous chapter regarding Ephraim, if they had the power to put them to tribute, they had the power to drive them out.
Joshua 17:14 ¶ And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?
Joshua 17:15 And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.
Joshua 17:16 And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.
Joshua 17:17 And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:
Joshua 17:18 But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.
The tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim complained to Joshua that they were not given enough land considering their great numbers. Joshua basically told them that they were strong enough to take over the land of the Perizzites as well as the hill country. They made the excuse that the Canaanites in that area had chariots of iron and couldn’t be defeated. Joshua stood firm and told them that they could overcome the Canaanites in spite of their iron chariots. Joshua knew that the LORD could give them the victory despite the odds against them; he basically told them that they needed to have faith in God.
Guzik makes a good observation: “How different is their attitude than Caleb’s attitude (Joshua 14:11-12)! They want 'easy land’ given to them, instead of taking God’s promises and going out and taking what God has given them.”
Joshua 18:1 ¶ And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them.
We are not told how the location was chosen, but it is noted that the people gathered together at Shiloh (15-20 miles north of Jerusalem) to set up the tabernacle since they had now been established as the ruling people of the land.
Though we are not told the process, we know it was of the LORD’s choosing.
Deuteronomy 12:10–11 “But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety; Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD….”
Although the LORD eventually chose to establish Jerusalem as the place of His presence among the people…
2 Chronicles 6:4–6 “And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name might be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.”
…the tabernacle stayed in Shiloh for over 300 years. The New Bible Commentary notes, “Shiloh was in the centre of the promised land and its landscape includes a natural amphitheatre.”
Joshua 18:2 ¶ And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance.
Joshua 18:3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?
Joshua 18:4 Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
Joshua 18:5 And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north.
Joshua 18:6 Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God.
Joshua 18:7 But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them.
There were yet seven tribes to receive their inheritance. It seems that Joshua was holding the people accountable for not yet taking possession of the rest of the land. He appointed three men from each of these tribes to go out and survey the land and make a recommendation as to how to divide it. They were not to include the land already assigned to Judah or the sons of Joseph. These instructions imply the necessity of drawing of a map and providing a written description of the territory surveyed.
Once again they are reminded that the Levites will not be included in the division of inheritances and that 2.5 tribes had already received their inheritances east of Jordan.
Joshua 18:8 And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh.
Joshua 18:9 And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
Joshua 18:10 And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
The survey party set out to do as Joshua had commanded. He reminded them once again that he wanted them to walk through the land and describe it. They did so and made a written record to take back to Joshua. When they returned, Joshua cast lots before the LORD at Shiloh to determine the land inheritances for the remaining seven tribes.
Joshua 18:11 ¶ And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
Joshua 18:12 And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven.
Joshua 18:13 And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.
Joshua 18:14 And the border was drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.
Joshua 18:15 And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
Joshua 18:16 And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,
Joshua 18:17 And was drawn from the north, and went forth to Enshemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,
Joshua 18:18 And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah:
Joshua 18:19 And the border passed along to the side of Bethhoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.
Joshua 18:20 And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families.
The land inheritance of Benjamin was between Judah and Ephraim. The northern border of Benjamin was the southern border of Ephraim; the southern border of Benjamin was the northern border of Judah. Its eastern border was the Jordan River, and the tribe of Dan was on its western border.
Courson: “Benjamin was the smallest of the tribes territorially—but what a wonderful inheritance he was given, for in his borders were Shiloh, Jericho, Hebron, Gibeon—and Jerusalem.”
Joshua 18:21 Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,
Joshua 18:22 And Betharabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel,
Joshua 18:23 And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah,
Joshua 18:24 And Chepharhaammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:
Joshua 18:25 Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth,
Joshua 18:26 And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah,
Joshua 18:27 And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah,
Joshua 18:28 And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.
Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, is buried near Bethel (v22).
Bethel was also one of two places that Jeroboam established a sanctuary for the northern tribes when the kingdom divided.
Deborah judged Israel from a place designated as between Ramah (v25) and Bethel.